{"id":768799,"date":"2026-09-12T23:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T23:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/768799\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T23:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T23:46:11","slug":"i-love-a-bit-of-mischief-liza-tarbuck-on-why-shes-swapping-her-radio-2-mic-for-a-potters-wheel-television","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/768799\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I love a bit of mischief!\u2019 Liza Tarbuck on why she\u2019s swapping her Radio 2 mic for a potter\u2019s wheel | Television"},"content":{"rendered":"

A tragedy. A national disaster. A loss to the cultural landscape that should be discussed in parliament. These were just a few listener reactions when Liza Tarbuck left her Radio 2<\/a> show earlier this year. \u201cI was bereft about it, too,\u201d sighs Tarbuck. \u201cI miss angsting over the playlist. I miss the texts and emails. For two hours every weekend, we were a proper gang.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tarbuck hosted her Saturday evening show for 14 years, building it into the funniest show on British radio. Her riotous mix of freewheeling chat and hand-picked tunes (the music could span nine decades<\/a> in the same show) drew an audience of 2 million, and received more messages from listeners \u2013 50 per minute \u2013 than any other programme on the station.<\/p>\n

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It became a cult phenomenon thanks to its running jokes, hilarious crowd-sourced stories and Tarbuck\u2019s anarchic links to the 7pm news bulletin (\u201cSmell that fromage! We interrupt this fun to bring you some miserable news\u201d). \u201cI love a bit of mischief,\u201d she chuckles. \u201cIt\u2019s like nectar to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She called it \u201cby appointment radio\u201d and it was, attracting a loyal fanbase \u2013 including many fellow broadcasters. Regular listeners were dubbed \u201cthe hivemind\u201d or \u201cthe murmuration\u201d.<\/p>\n

The final edition aired in January but her departure wasn\u2019t confirmed until March, when Tarbuck posted a heartfelt, hand-written farewell message on Instagram. \u201cI think you\u2019ve guessed,\u201d she wrote. \u201cSome fool left a door open and I sneaked out. A French exit. Together we made two hours of radio feel like a private members\u2019 club. That\u2019s the stuff of dreams. Thank you for letting me in, it\u2019s been a privilege.\u201d Many devotees were distraught. They still take to social media each Saturday to compare it to missing a friend.<\/p>\n

Tarbuck as Siobhan in The Change. Photograph: Channel 4<\/p>\n

Mystery swirled around her departure. Over a video call overlooking her verdant London garden (\u201cMy top tip is pots with drip trays\u201d), Tarbuck cheerfully shrugs this off. \u201cLots of people, very kindly, thought I was ill or my parents were ill, but that wasn\u2019t the case,\u201d she says. \u201cI was at Radio 2 on and off for 36 years in total. I realised it was time to go. The messages I received were deeply moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

She joined a talent exodus from the station in recent years, following the likes of Ken Bruce, Zoe Ball and Simon Mayo, as well as the late Paul O\u2019Grady, out of the Broadcasting House door. \u201cThe talent leaving Radio 2 tells its own story,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s no wonder people get upset by it. Listeners have allowed us into their home, which is a precious thing and should never be taken for granted. That\u2019s why the audience take it personally.\u201d<\/p>\n

She laments the loss of such stalwart names and maverick talents. \u201cThe BBC<\/a> needs high standards and a certain level of curation because it\u2019s a world leader. Ever since we were all sat in front of Bill & Ben or Blue Peter, it was the place to be. But you can\u2019t live off that reputation for ever. You have to keep it being the place to be. You do that by pushing the boundaries and not worrying about what commercial radio is doing. Let them do it. It doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans retain hope for a triumphant return to the airwaves. \u201cMaybe there will be a comeback in some form,\u201d she says. \u201cI genuinely don\u2019t know. I couldn\u2019t do a show that didn\u2019t have music flowing through it, and the difficulty is how to pay the artists. But I\u2019m figuring that out.\u201d So the murmuration should keep the faith? \u201cAlways. We\u2019re all still out here, flying in some line of formation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tarbuck (right) with Emma Wray in Watching. Photograph: Cinematic\/Alamy<\/p>\n

The 61-year-old actor and broadcaster \u2013 daughter of comedian Jimmy \u2013 has enjoyed an eccentrically eclectic career. After making her name in long-running ITV sitcom Watching, she took the lead in Linda Green, Paul Abbott\u2019s BBC comedy-drama. More recently, she appeared in Bridget Christie<\/a>\u2019s menopause comedy The Change and played Anne Hathaway in Ben Elton\u2019s Shakespeare sitcom Upstart Crow.<\/p>\n

She has presented everything from The Big Breakfast to Britain\u2019s Top Dog. Tarbuck even won Taskmaster while wearing a surprisingly convincing false beard<\/a>. \u201cIt was eight years ago but people still stop me to talk about the beard and the BMXing,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

Now she is returning to TV to present The Great Celebrity Pottery Throw Down. This fresh twist on Channel 4\u2019s ceramic contest sees six celebrities roll up their sleeves, brave the wheel and battle the clay. Across five weeks, the contestants \u2013 comedians Lucy Beaumont, Richard Herring and Fatiha El-Ghorri, former footballer Paul Merson, actor Layton Williams and presenter Denise van Outen \u2013 make everything from raku animals to garden gnomes.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s inspiring!\u2019 \u2026 Tarbuck with judges Keith Brymer Jones and Rich Miller on The Great Celebrity Pottery Throw Down. Photograph: Patch Dolan\/Channel 4<\/p>\n

In the process, they blossom under the expert eye of judges Keith Brymer Jones and Rich Miller. \u201cKeith is fabulous,\u201d says Tarbuck fondly. \u201cA really good laugh. But trust me, Rich is the one slyly holding it all together. They\u2019re both open-hearted and emotionally intelligent, which is a lovely quality in men of a certain age. That makes it a safe space and brings people\u2019s barriers down. Celebrities aside \u2013 what a horrible label \u2013 they\u2019re just humans. Keith said to me early on: \u2018Just watch the clay work as therapy,\u2019 and it really did.\u201d<\/p>\n

El-Ghorri makes a cathartic cancer confession. Beaumont and Williams find pottery helps with their recent ADHD diagnoses. Merson plans to continue the hobby beyond the series because it helps him stay in the moment \u2013 which he needs as a recovering addict. He believes ceramics classes should be offered in rehab. \u201cMr Merson\u2019s got a great slant on things,\u201d says Tarbuck. \u201cHe\u2019s a blokey bloke but he\u2019s done so much work on himself. He\u2019s great company and very intelligent. Although he\u2019d hate me saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her favourite contestant, however, was Beaumont. \u201cI just love Lucy, she\u2019s so \u2018other\u2019,\u201d laughs Tarbuck. \u201cShe has an unbelievable brain, but bless her, she had a nightmare. Every time she emerged from the drying room, her hair would be full of fine clay dust. She was furious but in a hilarious way.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a dramatic droppage (\u201cI was terrified that I\u2019d break something but thankfully it wasn\u2019t me\u201d) and some trademark blubbing from Brymer Jones. \u201c\u2018Keith the Weep\u2019 set me off once,\u201d admits Tarbuck. \u201cSomebody really needed praise at that time and, seeing how it was received, that\u2019s what made me go. It was tangibly moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the heartwarming series, these rookie potters display real progression. \u201cGrowth definitely happens,\u201d nods Tarbuck. \u201cIt\u2019s inspiring TV. I enjoy [sister show] The Great British Sewing Bee because I leave that programme thinking I can make a jacket. I have a go and end up with a wrap skirt. That\u2019s happened three times.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s more of a ceramic collector than a maker herself, Tarbuck confesses, but she relishes crafting. \u201cI\u2019m quite handy. I paint. I garden. I\u2019m into beading and mosaic. I think it comes from having an airy-fairy job where there\u2019s nothing tangible at the end. As an antidote to acting and presenting, you make something you can put your hands on and go: \u2018Look what I did today!\u2019 It helps me stay sane and grounded.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a treat to have Tarbuck back on our screens and she\u2019s quietly plotting more projects. \u201cI\u2019ve got a good idea for a Time Team type of show. Roaming the British isles, having a dig around. History is entrancing. You\u2019ve got to keep the creative possibilities bubbling. I do something nice and mundane like walking the dog [she has a Portuguese podengo called Ringo] and all sorts of ideas start percolating. All I can do is keep pushing them out there and some will stick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the murmuration should watch this space. \u201cI\u2019m interested in the immediacy of YouTube,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t know much about Patreon but I\u2019m assured that would be a good platform if I were to do a radio show. But it\u2019s not just about radio \u2013 it\u2019s about variety. You can sit and wait for an acting job to come in, but I don\u2019t know how much good that does you. Sometimes you have to branch out and be brave. Why limit yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Great Celebrity Pottery Throw Down starts on 13 September on Channel 4<\/p>\n